How to shape a life of prosperity
“Let me tell you the parable of the sculptor,” the Wealthy Gardener said, walking back to the podium where he paused a moment before he began.
“One day, a man climbed onto a boulder and hit it with a hammer and chisel. His dream was to sculpt a masterpiece. In the evenings that followed, after each day’s work at his full-time job, the chiseling continued. The sculptor, fueled with a beginner’s enthusiasm, carved away at the stone.
“Within a year, however, the newness of the work had faded. The exertion had produced little. The masterpiece was still a shapeless form. As fatigue set in, so did the sculptor’s inevitable self-doubt. Was it really worth it? ‘Am I really worthy to complete this task?’ he asked himself. ‘Am I capable of achieving my unique vision?’
“But within him was the defiant power of a human set upon a cherished goal. The sculptor had begun this crusade with a naive confidence that the dream could be actualized; he endured due to a growing trust that, with enough time, he would figure out a way to shape the rock into his imagined vision.
“Within five years, the rock had begun to take shape. He continued to chisel, fueled now by the emerging results. After another five years, the masterpiece was done. Satisfied at last, the sculptor examined the fruits of his labor.
“ ‘How did you do it?’ the townspeople asked in amazement.
“ ‘By overcoming my doubts each day for years,’ the sculptor said. ‘Had I heeded my doubts, I would have never begun nor endured. But with trust, I gave my life to it. I possessed a knowing, a certainty of the future sculpture, and I accepted nothing less.’ ”
The Wealthy Gardener looked around the classroom. “In your lives, confidence is too vital to be left to chance. You must command your mind and set upon the building of your character. Like a sculptor with a rare vision, the seeker of wealth needs extraordinary resolve to achieve uncommon riches. You must always trust that you can achieve.”
“What did he make out of the boulder?” a kid asked.
“The sculpture is a symbol representing your prosperity,” said the Wealthy Gardener. “You are each sculptors of your own masterpiece. It will take years, and vision, and work, and resolve, to overcome all doubts. And you must cling to a self-trust beyond the capacity of most other people.”
– Excerpt from The Wealthy Gardener
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